Gluten Free & Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Updated: Dec 29, 2022
There are too many words, stories and sounds to describe the perfection of the chocolate chip cookie. From my personal experience, which is embarrassingly extensive, there aren't many ways to mess up a chocolate chip cookie. When you're made up of butter, brown sugar, vanilla and chocolate, not much can go wrong. I can't say there aren't bad cookies out there, because there are and I've had them.
After switching my diet to become gluten-free and vegan, I found it impossible to find quality pastries. I traveled for cookies, I baked for cookies and I lived for cookies. Without realizing, I was in search for the Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie replica. I broke down each and every aspect as to what I thought made the Toll House CCC perfect. What makes them perfect? Is it the gooey center with a crisp shell exterior, or is the perfect balance of nutty and sweet? I would go out on a very sturdy limb to say that it's all of those things. I am looking for these qualities when biting into a chocolate chip: crispy, gooey, salty, nutty, sweet, and toasty.
With gluten-free and vegan baking, everything is a bit different from standard. I developed an entirely different cookie baking standard from most, simply to recreate that texture we all know and love. This baking standard has been used for every Sift'd cookie, and will continue to be my preferred baking method. By baking cookies this way, you achieve a doughy inside with a crisp outside.
Sift'd Cookie Baking Standard:
400ºf
Oven racks placed to bottom 1/3 of oven, and top 2/3 of oven
Baking one tray at a time
Start on the bottom rack for 3 minutes, rotate, and bake on top rack for 2.5 to 3 minutes.
Using the back of a spoon, smooth out the edges for the perfectly round cookie.
Cookie Ingredient Preferences:
King Arthur gluten-free all-purpose flour is my favorite due to its consistency and taste.
Chobani Extra Creamy oat milk is my preference.
Zulka plant-based sugar for it's coarse texture, and beautiful amber glow.
Flora or Country Crock Olive Oil Plant-Based Butter are my two preferences. Flora is more difficult to find, but worth it if you do!
I always aim to use 70% dark chocolate. Schnucks Market offers a Culinaria brand 70% vegan dark chocolate bar that is perfect for this recipe!
Tahini makes everything, and I mean everything, better. It is crucial for this recipe. It provides that warm nutty quality, similar to browned butter, while also helping to aid in texture.
The Recipe
yield: 16 cookies
1 cup plant-based butter
1-1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup plant-based granulated sugar
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon molasses, full flavor variety
1/2 cup oat milk, extra creamy
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon salt, kosher extra coarse
3 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
10-1/2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped or chipped
Prepare two baking sheets with either parchment paper or silicone and set aside.
Preheat oven to 400ºf.
Cream together butter, dark brown sugar, molasses, tahini and vanilla beat on medium speed for 3 minutes.
Slowly stream in oat milk, and cream for another 2 minutes on medium speed.
If using chocolate bars, roughly chop dark chocolate.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl.
Add chocolate into flour mixture. Make sure to reserve 1.75 ounces of chocolate, or half of a 3.5 ounce chocolate bar. This reserved chocolate will be used to garnish the pre-baked cookies.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture; mix on low until just combined. Scrape down sides of the bowl as needed and mix for an additional 10-15 seconds until fully incorporated.
Portion the dough into ½-cup scoops and flatten into hockey puck shapes.
Space the cookie pucks 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet, 6 cookies per tray.
Shave or chop the remaining chocolate onto the top of each cookie puck. I like to shave the chocolate with a vegetable peeler for uniform pieces.
Baking one pan at a time: 3 minutes on the lower rack, then rotate the sheet pan and bake for an additional 2½ minutes on the top rack.
Lightly salt the freshly baked cookies with extra coarse salt and cool completely on their tray.
The Scoop
The Puck n' Shave
The Bake n' salt
Happy Baking!
Keep it cheeky,
Mason